Saturday, 27 April 2013

I have been out and about again today. I had morning coffee and a cherry scone at Café Smart, Belmont Road, with my aunt and Pat.
Afterwards, I motored over to Forestside shopping centre, where I purchased a new compact digital camera, viz. a Canon Ixus 510 HS.
It's tiny, though constructed like a military tank. Apparently this little camera is capable of taking close-ups at one centimetre.
This afternoon I spent forty-seven minutes on the rowing-machine (which expended 400 calories).

Thursday, 25 April 2013

This is a property inalienably held by the National Trust. It
lies between Ringdufferin directly to its north and Killyleagh, the
nearest village, to the south, in County Down.

The island is one mile long and a quarter of a mile wide at its widest
point; a total area of about 85 acres, acquired in 1984 from Patrick and
Kathleen Mackie.

Its length and the height of its two drumlins make it particularly attractive in the southern half of Strangford Lough.

There were only four of us on this occasion, though we managed to get a lot of work done: Old hawthorn branches were burned; logs were gathered; and we began digging a new pond on the southeast of the island, within sight of Dunnyneil Islands.

We also recorded ten nests at a heronry towards the southern tip of Taggart.

I had prawn mayonnaise sandwiches and tea for lunch today; and Craig offered us all chunky Kit-Kat bars.

Timothy Belmont's new hair (!) brush and shaving-brush arrived yesterday. I ordered them directly from Kent Brushes, Hertfordshire, merely a day ago.

I wish to compliment them, because their service and presentation is second-to-none.

G B Kent & Sons Ltd, manufacturers of brushes since the 18th century, is one of the oldest established companies in the United Kingdom.

Kent Brushes (as they are now more commonly known) was founded in 1777 by William Kent in the reign of GEORGE III.

Kent holds a pre-eminent place in the history of brush making, with an unbroken record of excellence in the quality of its production which has been recognised by the granting of Royal Warrants for nine reigns.

The Kent family continued to run the company for six generations until 1932, when the last of the three Kent brothers passed away.

This is when Mr Eric Cosby, owner of Cosby Brushes Ltd, entered into an association with G.B Kent & Sons. A new chapter was then opened in Kent's long history, and since that time the company has been under the creative and dynamic direction of the Cosby family.

Today, Mr Alan Cosby, grandson to Eric Cosby is the Managing Director and Chairman, with his wife, son and one of his three daughters working for the business.

The company headquarters moved from London to their existing factory in Apsley, Hertfordshire, in 1984, and remains there to this day.

The company continues to retain the craftsmanship and unprecedented quality that is Kent's reputation.

Even in today's fast moving, mass-produced assembly, Kent are proud to still be manufacturing many of their original brushes by hand.

Nevertheless, Kent Brushes is committed to developing and enhancing its products with every step they take.

Kent harness the latest hi-tech manufacturing processes, whilst building on the time-honoured traditional methods to create the world's finest example of each and every brush that leaves their factory.

"In 2011, an advertisement by the budget supermarket chain Aldi became an internet sensation.

An elderly lady – 83‑year-old Jean Jones from Middlesbrough – is sitting at a mahogany dining table, comparing a popular make of tea with an Aldi own-brand product

“I buy this tea for my husband,” she says, deadpan. “He likes tea. I don’t like tea.” She picks up a glass of clear liquid, complete with ice and lemon, hidden behind one of the boxes. “I like gin.”

Aldi’s gin is making headlines once again. Its Oliver Cromwell London Dry Gin (£9.65 for a 70cl) has won a silver medal in blind taste-testing at this year’s International Spirits Challenge.

A slightly more expensive bottle from Asda won gold. But those in the know say Aldi’s is the top tipple, beating mainstream brands such as Bombay Sapphire and Hendricks, and comparable to upmarket rivals, including gins from Harrods and Waitrose.

“Price isn’t everything,” Charles Maxwell, master distiller and one of the judges, insists. “With gin, you’re governed by two things: juniper must be predominant, and the strength must be at least 37.5 per cent. After that, the botanicals [the combination of aromatic plant extracts that create a 'signature’ flavour] are your toy cupboard.”

Lucy Britner, Bars Editor at Drinks International, says:

“If citrus botanicals are present, we assess whether they are balanced with the earthy notes of juniper, and whether the finish is pleasant.”

Now, I’m no gin expert, but there is nothing more pleasant on a spring afternoon than a cool, tinkling glass of gin, tonic and a slice of lime.

Wine will become 'unaffordable' luxury and gin is fast-becoming Britain’s spirit of choice. Last year, sales rose by 12 per cent in pubs, with supermarket sales up 5 per cent.

Sitting in the sunny gardens of London’s Goring Hotel, I put Aldi’s £10 tipple – and six others – to the test.

Gordon’s London Gin £17.69 from Sainsbury’s

The market leader (50 per cent of gin sales in the UK), Gordon’s is the most iconic.

But I don’t know why. Bland, tart and one-dimensional, it’s not worth savouring. “The variety of gins is tremendous – they can be complex or straightforward,” explains Maxwell. “Some contain up to 19 different botanicals; others, including some of the better-known brands, only have four.” 1/5

London No 1 Original Blue Gin £35 from Harrods

At 47 per cent proof, it’s the strongest by alcohol volume – and you can certainly taste it. Sharp and punchy, this is one of the most expensive on the market. Its translucent blue colour (from being infused with gentian flowers) mimics Bombay Sapphire, but it’s superior in taste and texture.

The makers describe it as “uniquely elegant”, and I could happily sup this refined spirit all day. 4/5

Sipsmith London Dry Gin, £27.95

Another iconic brand, this tipple is produced in a residential street in Hammersmith, west London, by a small team of enthusiasts. Delicate, herby and full of citrus, it’s my favourite.

“Sipsmith’s is a good quality gin,” says Brian Kinsella, bar and lounge manager of The Goring, where gin is the most popular drink on the menu. “It’s one of the only distilleries to use a copper still, which gives great flavour.” 5/5

Oliver Cromwell Dry Gin, £9.65 from Aldi

The critics’ favourite comes in a dark green bottle, with italicised label and royal crest, which looks an awful lot like Gordon’s. It’s refreshingly crisp, lemony and smooth – as every good gin should be – and unbeatable on price.

But, for me, the flavours are too subtle and my drink tastes more of tonic than gin. “The Aldi gin has been consistently good,” says Maxwell, “but it’s competing in a vibrant marketplace.” 3/5

Heston from Waitrose Earl Grey and Lemon Gin £23

More like an alcoholic cuppa, this gin has been subjected to Heston Blumenthal’s madcap molecular gastronomy, using bergamot to “make this spirit a real spirit”. Sadly, it hasn’t worked.

There’s far too much going on to taste even a hint of gin, and I can’t take more than a few sips. Interestingly, it’s the only one to offer nutritional information – but the 220 calories per 100ml only puts me off more. 2/5

London Dry Gin £11 from Asda

Despite its gold medal, this is sweet and too sickly for me. Liquoricey and tangy, it’s like a bag of pick’n’mix has been dissolved in my glass. The bottle, decorated with a green London skyline, makes it look downmarket. 2/5

Bathtub Gin £32.95 from Master of Malt (masterofmalt.com)

Part of a range of spirits supposedly cooked up by a wacky fictional amateur distiller, Professor Cornelius Ampleforth, this is wrapped in a Prohibition‑esque brown paper. Made in small batches of 30 to 60 bottles, it is noticeably spicier, tasting of Christmassy cinnamon and cloves. 4/5

The flagship BBC series Antiques Roadshow today revisits Castle Coole, a property of The National Trust near Enniskillen in County Fermanagh. It is broadcast at 8pm.

Fiona Bruce and the team of experts welcome visitors as they bring their family treasures for inspection.

Pieces featured include a poignant reminder from the battlefields of World War One, a beautiful and valuable modern painting of an Irish landscape, and a collection of compacts with a jaw-dropping valuation.

A lady brings in an exquisite diamond brooch with a fascinating story attached; there’s a clever novelty Victorian bracelet and a pair of earrings that sends the expert into raptures.

Elsewhere, there’s a poignant First World War battlefield cross accompanied by a sad tale from the Somme, and two lovely Irish paintings.

A collector with a passion for ladies’ powder compacts brings in just a fraction of her enormous collection.

This is my very first missive from the iPad. The sun is shining, the lark is on the wing, and it is a beautiful morning.

I could not work out how to transfer images from the iPad to the blog, as yet, so I emailed them to my email address and uploaded them from my main computer at home. There is doubtless an "app" for importing photos to blogs from iPads.

I motored the short distance - I really ought to have cycled - to Belmont Road, where I ambled in to Café Smart.

This is a lovely, bright, cheerful coffee-house.

I ascended the stairs and sat on a leather sofa in the upstairs lounge. There were three other customers here, though it was only about 10am.

A very agreeable waitress appeared and immediately provided me with the wi-fi address for my iPad, which connected instantaneously.

I ordered a regular mocha coffee and a fruit scone.

I have to say that the coffee and scone were both presented impeccably. The coffee tasted superlative to me. The scone was freshly baked and filled with a fair amount of fruit.

I was provided with two pats of Ulster butter and home-made raspberry jam.

Thursday, 18 April 2013

I made a brief sortie into town this morning in the two-wheeler. There was a feisty head-wind en route.

Having spent awhile in the Linenhall Library (I am tempted to write an article about the Herdmans of Sion House), I ambled in to Marks & Spencer, where I bought garlic-bread and a roast chicken breast.

In the menswear department I spotted a number of perfectly good shirts, which were in the sale.

The £5 price sticker proved to be irresistible. Moreover, there was a very good selection of shirts in my size.

Sunday, 14 April 2013

The Daily Telegraph investigates the chances of obtaining a flight upgrade:-

Most air passengers will never fly in anything but economy class. Premium seats are shockingly unaffordable.

During its last January sale, British Airways advertised first-class return flights to Sri Lanka for £2,599, down from the usual £5,179.

Not a bad deal, but that’s still more than a month’s salary for the average British worker. Business class is less dear, but still remains beyond the reach of most people.

So unless you know your way around a hedge-fund, or happen to be flying the plane, there’s only one way you’ll find yourself turning left when you board an aircraft: the free upgrade.

Nabbing one is rare. A few years ago the website MoneySavingExpert.com polled nearly 9,000 travellers to find out whether they had ever received a free upgrade. Less than a third of those questioned had done.

But there are numerous ways you can boost your chances.

Choose your route carefully

Most upgrades will be offered for “operational reasons”, such as when the economy class cabin is full or oversold, but the premium cabins are not. Therefore travelling on a busy route, where this is more likely to occur, will help. Flights to beach resorts during the school holidays, when the majority of fellow passengers will be families, are a good bet. Monday morning flights to Frankfurt – not so much.

Be loyal, and pay more for your ticket

Regular customers will normally be given priority when an upgrade is available. “It is sometimes necessary to upgrade customers,” said a BA spokesman. “This is rare and will normally apply to frequent flyers who are members of our loyalty programme first.” A spokesman for Lufthansa said: “Passengers who paid more for their tickets are more likely to be upgraded than passengers who bought a discounted ticket. The frequent flier program status is also taken into account.”

Travel alone

If there are just one or two seats available up front, they will probably be offered to single travellers first.

Just ask

Four per cent of those questioned in the MoneySavingExpert.com poll said they had received a free upgrade by simply asking for one at the check-in desk. With some airlines, however, it won’t matter how charming you are. A Virgin Atlantic spokesman, for example, said it does not give upgrades to anyone who requests one. The airline also recently revealed some unusual reasons given by passengers requiring an upgrade. They included the following: “Manchester United lost today, I am really upset and need the space to get over it” “My wife is pregnant – I need an upgrade as it is a really stressful time for me” “My newborn baby has claustrophobia, we really need an upgrade so she has more space” “I am Sir Richard Branson’s dentist” “I have lost all of my money in Vegas but really need an upgrade” “It’s a Sunday. No-one flies on a Sunday, so please can I have an upgrade?”

But have a good reason

If you’ve got a more genuine reason than those listed above, such as being exceptionally tall, pregnant, or even celebrating a honeymoon, birthday, or anniversary, it will go in your favour. A Lufthansa spokesman said “it never hurts to ask”, and offering a reason such as these “would certainly improve your chances”.

And be nice

It goes without saying that the lucky few who have received an upgrade after requesting one were polite, and probably smartly dressed. They didn’t demand one.

Be unlucky

If you’ve got a faulty entertainment system, or a chair that won’t recline, you’ve got good reason to complain, particularly if you’re on a long-haul flight. You may simply be moved to another economy class seat, but if none are free... Equally, if you’ve got a legitimate grievance against another passenger – harassment, for example – you could ask to be relocated.

Be a VIP or know someone at the airline

The Virgin spokesman added that: “There is an upgrade list at check in (this could be journalists, travel industry VIPs, etc) and all these upgrades are agreed in advance and signed off at head office.” So if you have a good friend who works for an airline, it can’t hurt to ask.

Saturday, 13 April 2013

The Ballymoney Times reports that Leslie Hill Farm, which brought thousands of visitors to the Borough since it began in 1989, has closed to the general public.

The estate was not opened at Easter, 2013, and a message on the website said:

“Unfortunately, Leslie Hill will not be opening for Easter 2013 and will remain closed throughout June, July and August. We thank you wholeheartedly for your visits in previous years and are sorry to disappoint you at this time.”

A council spokesperson confirmed that they had been contacted to not include the Farm on their tourist information brochures.

A member of the family, Mr John Leslie, said his parents who ran the farm since it opened, were both over 80 and had “done as much as they could.”

He added that they had wanted to retire. Mr Leslie said it was regrettable that the Farm had to close but did not rule it re-opening in the future.

Councillor Bill Kennedy said the news had saddened him. It was, he said, a very popular and well established facility in Ballymoney and provided the Borough with a great tourist boost:

“Leslie Hill was ideal for families and young children and had helped educate a great many in the ways of farming and how to care and look after animals. Mr and Mrs James Leslie deserve to step back and take things a bit easier and I wish both a very happy retirement."

LORD AND LADY BELMORE LIVE AT THE GARDEN HOUSE, CASTLE COOLE ESTATE, COUNTY FERMANAGH

In May, 1949, Major Galbraith Lowry-Corry was serving with the Inniskilling Fusiliers in Malaya when his commanding officer handed him a telegram addressed ‘Lord Belmore’.

It signalled that he, a great-nephew of the 4th Earl, had become the 7th Earl of Belmore, for his bachelor cousin, Cecil Lowry-Corry, the 6th Earl, had just died.

He took emergency leave and returned home immediately. When he and his family arrived home at Castle Coole, County Fermanagh, they had their photograph taken on the steps of the south-facing colonnade.

Their son and heir John, [now 8th Earl] was born in 1951. Because of death duties, sweeping changes were required to secure the future of Castle Coole.

The house and 70 acres of land were transferred to the National Trust and, by 1955, parts of the house were open to the public.

However, the family retained ownership of the contents and are able to use some of the private rooms in the castle.

In the same year, Lady Belmore commissioned Raymond Piper to make drawings of Castle Coole as a birthday present for her husband.

In 1960, Derek Hill was asked to paint the family in a conversation piece for which they sat in the Saloon. This painting was especially poignant, given that Lord Belmore died later in the year aged just 47.

John Corry became the 8th Earl of Belmore. His earliest memories of Castle Coole are of the Christmas turkey belonging to the National Trust caretakers, Mr and Mrs Wright, which he freed from its pen in the basement.

This landed him in a lot of trouble with his parents. He recalls an idyllic childhood with private lessons in the nursery in the east wing, fishing for pike and tours of the demesne with his father.

During the summer holidays he enjoyed the company of friends including Alan [now the Viscount Brookeborough] and Christopher Brooke from Colebrooke, and Gerald Grosvenor [now the Duke of Westminster] from Ely Lodge.

He attended the Portora preparatory school at Gloucester House; then continued his education as a boarder at Lancing College in Sussex, his father’s alma mater.

After two years at agricultural college he returned to Castle Coole in 1974. These were grim times in Northern Ireland.

Lord Belmore made a key decision to renovate the gardener’s cottage in the walled garden where he and his family now live, although their eldest son [Viscount Corry] still uses the private rooms in Castle Coole.

Gradually and tastefully he refurbished and extended it in collaboration with architects Richard Pierce, John O’Connell and Mary Kerrigan, local builder, Terry McGovern and Robert Gormley of Precision Joinery.

Since there was not a single painting of Castle Coole in existence, he commissioned the Enniskillen-born artist, TP Flanagan, to produce a series of watercolours and oils.

Lord Belmore developed a good working relationship with the National Trust and over the last 25 years he has been adding to the family portraits and paintings with key pieces, which are in keeping with the style and period of the house.

He was pleased to take me [Jenny Cathcart] on a tour of the art works. In the entrance hall, he drew my attention to the warmth of colour in the Cuban mahogany doors and the scagliola columns.

At this time of year, when the National Trust diligently puts the house to bed after the summer season, calico covers are draped on the furniture and lamps and chandeliers are muffled in muslin to preserve them from the dust.

We make our way to the breakfast-room to see Giovanni Battista Cipriani’s ‘Heavenly Twins’ Castor and Pollux, which Lord Belmore believes is now the best painting in the house.

Dated 1783, it was one of three paintings commissioned for Houghton Hall in Norfolk. Lord Belmore purchased it in 1990 and it is so large that it had to be brought frameless through the breakfast room window.

He also bought ‘The Flight into Egypt’, by an unknown north Italian painter, which dates from the early 18th century. It hangs harmoniously alongside Hugh Douglas Hamilton’s portrait of the adventurous, impetuous 2nd Earl who was governor of Jamaica from 1828–32.

He took his family on a grand tour of the Mediterranean on the brig Osprey and then furnished Castle Coole in the regency style almost bankrupting the family in the process.

In the same room is ‘Miss Morgan’ by the Irish painter Garrett Morphey, which was singled out by the late Sir Oliver Millar, the Queen’s picture surveyor, as an excellent example of late 17th century Irish portraiture.

In the north-facing drawing-room hang original portraits of Armar Lowry-Corry, who built Castle Coole from 1788-95 and two of his three wives. These are by the two most eminent Irish portrait painters of the day, Hugh Douglas-Hamilton and Robert Hunter.

The first wife, Lady Margaret Butler, was the eldest daughter of the Earl of Carrick. The second, Lady Henrietta Hobart, daughter of the Earl of Buckinghamshire, chose Belmore, the name of the nearby mountain, when the peerage was offered to her husband.

The [1st] Earl’s third wife was Mary Anne Caldwell.

Near the main staircase is a charcoal drawing of doves by Mildred Ann Butler, a study for a watercolour.

Here too is a small oil painting by Hans Iten, a Swiss damask designer who lived in Belfast and a painting by Nathaniel Hone the Younger, a landscape at Cassis in the south of France.

We pause on the landing to look at Belfast-born Peter Turnerelli’s bust of the Duke of Wellington, champion of Home Rule for Ireland and friend of the 2nd Earl of Belmore.

In 1978, a gift to the National Trust from a private benefactor made it possible to refurbish the first floor Bow Room with a brand new set of chintz curtains and wallpaper copied from an original sample discovered behind a mirror.

In this room is another of Lord Belmore’s acquisitions, ‘Le Pont du Gard at Nimes’, a painting of the Roman aqueduct by Nathaniel Hone the Younger.

When, in 1988, ‘The Leslie Conversation Piece’, which had hung at Castle Leslie in County Monaghan, came up for sale, Lord Belmore bought it from a picture dealer in London.

Painted in 1770, this work by Mortimer depicts some of the most colourful and prosperous landowners of the day.

Lord Mornington, who was ennobled by the king for his music making, entertains the company at the piano.

The painting now hangs in the state bedroom which was kitted out in regal red for a planned visit by King George IV, who never came but preferred to dally with his mistress at Slane Castle.

Lord Belmore has donated some paintings to the Castle Museum in Enniskillen of which he is a patron.

These include ‘Still Life with Garlic’, by William Scott, which he describes as 'one of the strongest and most important 20th century paintings in the North West of Ireland'.

‘Pears’ by Scott is also in the museum, as well as the above-mentioned ‘The Saloon at Castle Coole’ by TP Flanagan.

Published by the Ulster Historical Foundation in 2007, the fully illustrated book Belmore: The Lowry Corry’s of Castle Coole 1646 - 1913 has been one of Lord Belmore’s most important projects, for it traces the history of Castle Coole and the union of the Lowry-Corry families.

Peter Marson was commissioned to write it and it was 12 years in the making.

When Lord Belmore was introduced to Patrick Prendergast by the artist, Philip Flanagan, he invited him to photograph the forgotten spaces of the attic and the basement at Castle Coole where the last vestiges of his boyhood life in the 1950s still remained intact: the 7th Earl’s travel trunk; the schoolroom with bookshelves still lined with books.

The photographer continued on the same theme in other country houses throughout Ireland including Lisadell in County Sligo.

These photographs appear in Ancestral Interiors, published by the Irish Architectural Archive in 2010.

Sunday, 7 April 2013

Alas, we couldn't do sufficient justice to the Bushtown Hotel's celebrated Sunday Carvery, where patrons from throughout the county and further afield indulge in splendid arrays of nosh, hearty nose-bags abound, and well-rounded trenchermen and women compete for the cooked offerings.

Saturday, 6 April 2013

I'm staying at the Bushtown Hotel, Coleraine, County Londonderry, this weekend.

I met Lady A at the hotel, while she was getting tucked in to a rather toothsome roast beef dinner.

Well, it will be no surprise to regular readers to learn that we indulged in several restoratives.

It's fine and sunny today. We might go for a drive in the two-seater. I'd be keen enough to visit Ballycastle, a town I've written about recently.

Particularly, what remains of Clare Park, that former country estate.

I was interested to hear that Lord Belmore has acquired Fardross Estate, Country Tyrone, a demesne I have composed an article about, viz. the Gledstanes of Fardross; and which I expect to publish imminently.

Thursday, 4 April 2013

Regular readers will have discerned that I repeat, or reissue, articles, most of which were posted about eighteen months ago.

Whilst it's true that my scope for new pieces pertaining to Ulster country houses is diminishing (mainly because I feel I've already written about the majority of the more interesting ones), I continue to search for new demesnes or estates.

When an old article is reissued, I generally revise it, adding "meat to the bones". I often undertake further research on the family, for instance.

I have an established format for these articles, so I'm sometimes re-writing older posts in the preferred format.

I currently have twenty-six drafts of brand new articles, which will be published throughout 2013.

Founded in 2007 by Timothy William Ferres: writing about a variety of topics including the Monarchy, the Nobility, the Gentry, Heraldry, Pageantry, History of the British Isles, Heritage, Country Houses, the National Trust, Conservation, Brackenber House School, Food, Drink, Sir P G Wodehouse, Travel.